SANTIAGO – A Chilean family who was removing the soil from the yard of their home where they were planning to do some construction got a big surprise when they found four skeletons dating from 320 B.C., La Segunda daily reported Monday.

The Valdes Navarro family found the relics of the Bato culture on Saturday in Con-Con, a municipality located about 130 kilometers (81 miles) west of Santiago.

Francisco Allendes, an archaeologist, historian and former director of the Con-Con Museum, said that locating the skeletons about 80 centimeters (2 1/2 feet) beneath the ground “is a relevant find, because it serves to confirm the presence of this group (the Batos) in a super-dense way in demographic terms in this area.”

The archaeologist said that starting in the 1960s, researchers had been finding human remains and materials from the Batos.

Allendes said that the remains show evidence of the “funeral practice” used by the Batos.

The Bato society contained cultural elements of the Early Alfarera Communities, and shared other characteristics with the early peoples of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. EFE

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